<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> The EU’s cultural initiative ‘the European Capital of Culture’ (ECOC) includes high identity political aims. It requires the designated cities to introduce and foster local, regional, and European cultural identities. In addition, the cities have used the designation as an opportunity to promote national cultural identity. Audiences of the ECOC events recognize and interpret different kinds of representations of territorial cultural identities from what the cities have to offer in culture. However, the contents of these interpretations vary drastically in the ECOCs. The article discusses whether the competence of interpreting the representations of territorial cultural identities is related to some social determinants of the audiences. Based on a questionnaire study conducted in recent ECOCs-Pécs (Hungary), Tallinn (Estonia), and Turku (Finland)-the study indicates that, for example, education, source of livelihood, and active cultural participation impact the interpretations of the representations of territorial cultural identities.</p></abstract>

The EU’s cultural initiative ‘the European Capital of Culture’ (ECOC) includes high identity political aims. It requires the designated cities to introduce and foster local, regional, and European cultural identities. In addition, the cities have used the designation as an opportunity to promote national cultural identity. Audiences of the ECOC events recognize and interpret different kinds of representations of territorial cultural identities from what the cities have to offer in culture. However, the contents of these interpretations vary drastically in the ECOCs. The article discusses whether the competence of interpreting the representations of territorial cultural identities is related to some social determinants of the audiences. Based on a questionnaire study conducted in recent ECOCs-Pécs (Hungary), Tallinn (Estonia), and Turku (Finland)-the study indicates that, for example, education, source of livelihood, and active cultural participation impact the interpretations of the representations of territorial cultural identities.

The Influence of Cultural Competence on the Interpretations of Territorial Identities in European Capitals of Culture

Department of Art and Culture Studies, Faculty of the Humanities, University of Jyväskylä P.O. box 35(A), Jyväskylä FI 40014, Finland

TalTech Journal of European Studies

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The EU’s cultural initiative ‘the European Capital of Culture’ (ECOC) includes high identity political aims. It requires the designated cities to introduce and...

The Influence of Cultural Competence on the Interpretations of Territorial Identities in European Capitals of Culture

Published Online: May 17, 2014

Page range: 69 - 96

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/bjes-2014-0005

Keywords
cultural capital, cultural competence, European Capital of Culture, interpretation, reception, representation, territorial cultural identity

© by Tuuli Lähdesmäki

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The Influence of Cultural Competence on the Interpretations of Territorial Identities in European Capitals of Culture

Published Online: May 17, 2014

Page range: 69 - 96

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/bjes-2014-0005

Keywordscultural capital, cultural competence, European Capital of Culture, interpretation, reception, representation, territorial cultural identity

© by Tuuli Lähdesmäki

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Keywords
cultural capital, cultural competence, European Capital of Culture, interpretation, reception, representation, territorial cultural identity